//------------------------------//
// Goddesses of the Earth 
// Story: Oh no, they're Goddesses now! 
// by James Pwyll 
//------------------------------//

"Okay now, Bloom. Remember what ah taught ya."

Applejack looked on with both nervousness and excitement as she watched her sister kneel upon the ground before her. The younger Goddess narrowed her eyes at the patch of grass in front of her, reaching out her hand and placing it gently on the earth. Closing her eyes, she concentrated as hard as she could, her breathing steady and controlled. She remembered all her sister had taught her, all the things that would be needed to make this happen, and so began to apply her divine power. There was a glow from her hand, and Applejack smiled as she saw what her sister was accomplishing. From that plain old patch of grass and moss, something new was emerging. A new plant, and as it rose, Apple Bloom's hand rose with it. She focused and focused and focused, and only when she was sure she was finished did she at last open her eyes. Her face broke out into a wide smile, and she saw the newly-created tomato plant where once there had been none. Leaping to her feet, she embraced her elder sibling in a tight hug.

"Ah did it! Ah really did it!"

Chuckling, Applejack returned the hug.

"Yes ya did, Bloom. Yer growin' power is really comin' along nicely."

As the two parted, Applejack wrapped one arm around her sister's shoulder to hold her close, and they both looked down to the newly-formed life.

"Our branch o' the Gods has always helped out farmers, and with a little nudge here and there, we've always managed to get their crops goin' when they need it most."

She laughed.

"Ah couldn't even get a tomato plant half that size when ah was yer age!"

Apple Bloom looked up to her, starry-eyed.

"Ya mean it?!"

Applejack nodded.

"Eyup! Yer gonna do great, Bloom!"

The younger Goddess squealed for joy, a sight which brought Applejack no end of delight, but as this warm and happy moment continued, the siblings were unfortunately interrupted by a sudden shaking of the ground beneath them. It was small, but enough to catch their notice.

"Was...was that an earthquake?" Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack shook her head.

"No, ah don't think one's scheduled fer..."

Then, her eyes widened with realisation.

"Oh...no."

Apple Bloom looked to her with curiosity.

"Sis?"

Before she got an answer, she was taken aback when Applejack abruptly took hold of her hand and, without warning, leapt up high, taking Apple Bloom along with her. And not a moment too soon either, for as soon as they'd done this, they could see down below that the very ground was tearing asunder, and a great amount of stone was rising up from below. They looked on with shock and awe as, right in the middle of that land, a mountain, tall and mighty, was rising. It kept on coming, getting higher and higher, until it at last pierced the layer of clouds in the skies above. It was a beast of a mountain, that much was certain, and after waiting for it to finally cease its rise, the two sisters looked to it with uncertainty.

"Wha...where'd that thing come from?!" Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, ah know exactly where it's come from."

No other words came from her, for instead she began to scour the immediate area, looking both on the mountain itself and the surrounding lands. Eventually, she focused on one spot in particular, and a deep frown came to her.

"There they are!" she declared angrily.

She shot down to the ground, with her sister still being held by the hand, and within mere moments, the two landed, a cloud of dust rising with their arrival. Apple Bloom was finally released, and she looked up to see Applejack walking intently towards three young women who appeared to be the same age as the latter. They had their backs turned, instead looking to the newly-created mountain, but as soon as Applejack was close enough, they turned. And here, Apple Bloom recognised them. It was Pinkie Pie's sisters, Maud, Limestone and Marble, and they all regarded Applejack in different ways, from Maud's regular stoicism to Limestone's expected irritation to Marble's nervousness. Once there, Applejack maintained her frown.

"Do y'all maybe wanna warn folks before ya start growin' mountains outta nowhere?!"

Limestone shrugged.

"Hey, you're fine, aren't you?"

Applejack grunted.

"Ugh! That ain't the point! Ya can't jus' go around poppin' big lumps o' rock wherever ya want!"

Maud, her face ever-unchanging, blinked.

"We were told it was time for a new mountain in the mortal world, so we made one. This land was good for it. Nobody around here yet, so it was no threat to any mortals."

Limestone let out what was, for her at least, a very rare laugh.

"Yeah! It's free real estate!"

Applejack was unimpressed, and while she, Maud and Limestone failed to notice how Apple Bloom was giving a friendly wave to Marble, the Patron of farmers marched on up to the other two.

"Now y'all listen here, cousins! Me an' Bloom were sent ta find a nice place fer humans ta set up shop! This place here was perfect! Wide open spaces fer crops an' herds an' the like."

She gestured to the mountain angrily.

"Now how in the heck do y'all expect mortals ta be able ta grow anythin' here now that y'all have dropped a great big one o' those on top o' it?!"

Maud just stared at her.

"We didn't drop it...we raised it from the ground."

Both Applejack and Limestone gave her odd looks, leading to a quick shrug on Maud's part.

"Well...I thought it was funny."

Getting back to the matter at hand, Limestone pointed to her still-enraged cousin.

"Look, Apples, farms are easy to make. You and your sister can just find somewhere else to help humans make some."

Applejack was, understandably, incensed by that.

"Easy?! Ah'll have ya know a lot o' work goes into em ta make em right! An' besides..."

She again looked to the mountain.

"Y'all can jus' as 'easily' break this thing down an' move it!"

It was now Limestone's turn to sound insulted.

"Are you kidding?! We spent weeks making this thing before bringing it up here, and now you're just telling us to smash it?!"

"We haven't even bought it dinner yet," Maud added.

Limestone rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Not now, Maud!"

She glared again to her cousin.

"If all you want is for humans to not have a hard time, then go ahead and invite them. Have them live next to the mountain! It's no problem!"

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"What, y'all jus' expect em ta bring a herd o' sheep and have em graze on that thing?"

It really looked like there was going to be no end to this argument, but then, rather unexpectedly, a new sound caught the three off-guard.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

They halted, looking utterly confused, before turning to see what it was. There, not very far away, was Apple Bloom and Marble. Unbeknown to he three who had been arguing, the two had walked off together to do something else. Specifically, that 'something else' just so happened to be creating some new form of life. At first glance, it appeared to be like a sheep, except with far less wool, and also looking a lot leaner. It was sporting a small beard on its chin, and atop its head were two curved horns. It was a creature the others had never seen before, and as they walked closer to it, Apple Bloom smiled to her sister.

"Wadda ya think?"

Applejack, scratching the side of her head, was justifiably confused.

"Er...what is it?"

Marble smiled, but looked to her young cousin to explain things.

"We got ta talkin', Marble an' me, an' we thought it'd be good ta make some kinda compromise."

She pointed to the mountain.

"The mountain was a lot of work ta make, like Limestone said, an' Applejack's right when she said farmers would have a hard time with herds an' stuff, so..."

She looked to her new creation.

"...we made this little guy up! He's like a sheep, but he can, ya know, live an' graze in a place like that there mountain."

Limestone, folding her arms, looked to the creature incredulously.

"So...you made a sheep that can live on a mountain?"

Apple Bloom thought on that, then smiled to her.

"Er, yeah, pretty much."

She then looked to her sister.

"So...can we stop fightin' now?"

Applejack, softening considerably, got down to one knee, then reached out and gave her sister a pat on the head.

"Aw, Bloom. Yer as sweet as pie sometimes."

Apple Bloom blushed, and as the two sisters hugged, Maud looked to Limestone.

"Guess that settles that then."

But Limestone was unconvinced, looking to the new creature.

"I dunno. Mountains are pretty difficult places. You sure this thing is tough enough to-OOFF!!!"

Before she'd even finished, the animal had charged forward, headbutting her right in the stomach, and since her status as a Goddess basically guaranteed that this wouldn't hurt her at all, it had left her winded. But as she stood there, getting her breath back, she looked to the animal with surprise, and the animal itself simply did its call again.

"MAAAAAAAA!!!"

Limestone, blinking a couple of times, soon cracked a smile.

"Oh yeah, it's tough enough."

She too patted Apple Bloom on the head.

"Got a name for it, kiddo?"

Apple Bloom tapped her chin, thinking on that, then smiled to all the older Goddesses.

"How about...a Stomach-Hitter?"

Limestone sighed.

"We'll keep working on it."